Container holder



Jan. 22, 1957 Filed March 15, 1955 FRANKS 2,778,702

CONTAINER HOLDER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

,fllfojt l, Franks ATTD RN EYS Jan. 22, 1957 A. 1.. FRANKS CONTAINERHOLDER 2 Sheets-Sheet Filed March 15, 1955 INVENTOR. 1123011 11. franksVIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIYIIIIIIII E II ATTD R N EYS United States Patent OlCONTAINER HOLDER Alto lavFrauksuLantanar a ApplicationiMarch 15, 1955,Serial'N0. 4949409 6rClaims. tCl-SlZ-a-ZAZ) This invention relates tocollapsible or folding containeriholders particularly adapted to beincorporated in an instrumentpanel of a motor vehicle, and inparticular, a .tray slidab'ly 'rnounted in an elongated rectangularshaped casing and having semi-circular'loops formed of wire or smallrods witharrns extended from ends thereof whereby in withdrawing the:tray. from a position nested in the casing to a l-extended positiontheloops are actute h zon a y d snq ed Po i on p di sides of a i cu1r-..1eme o re ain n a co surih s a g ass -o th l on th -t ay nd, up n dn the tray into the casing, the loops are folded downwardly to neste Posion on th ay- The p rp s o th in en i n i holder foria container, suchas a glass or bottle, that occupies comparatively littlespace ,in aninstrument'panel of a motor vehicle when not "in use and that is readilyad pt t be .d awn utwa dly, su h as an as trait, when use thereofdesired.

Yarious attachments vand .other.devices have been pro vided incombination with instrument panels of motor the device may-be installedinwan instrument panel of a motor vehicle. Y

Another object oftheinvention'isto provide a folding container holderthat is adapted to be installed in an instrument panel of ;a motorvehicle in which the device automatically opens to a position.forholding alcontainer as -it is drawn outwardly to an extendedposition on .the instrument panel.

A further object of the invention is ito providea.;cllapsiblecontainerholder particularly adapted for use in a -rnotorwehicle in which the holder is of a simple and economical construction.

With :these andaother object-s and-advantages ;in .view, theinventionemhodies an elongated casing, rectangular shaped in crosssection and having a centrally disposed partition @with ayslot having aninclined section therein extendedlengthwise Qofthecasi-ng, and atrayhaving semicircular loopspivotally mounted thereon-slidably mountedin the casing and positioned with ends ofthe loops extended into the.slotof -thejpartition of the casing :whereby upon outwardsmoyement of the:tray the .ends of the loops followingztheislotiofathe{partition actuatethe loops to horizontally :disposed positions.

Other t featuresaand advantages of the inventiOn will 2,778,702 PatentedJan. 22 1957 appear-from the following description, taken inconnectionwith the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure l is a plan'viewofthe container holder showing the device with atraypositioned in a casing of the holder.

Figurej2 is an end elevational view showing the outer end of the tray of.itheholder.

Figure 3.'is a longitudinal section through the container holdertakenonline 33 Vo f'Eigure l.

%Figure-4 is a sectional plan through the device taken on'line i4-;4of1-Figu17e3.

Figure 5 ,is avertical cross section through vthe .cqntainerfholdertaken on line 5- 5 of Figure 3, -the ,parts being shown onanenlargdscatle.

Figure 6;iS a vertieal section through a facing .plate of ;the tray ofthe container 'holder vtelkemon line ;6r-6 of Figure 3.

Figure? isa sectional plan through thecontainenholder similar tothatshown in Figure 4 with the-tray shown .in

an extended position and with parts broken away.

[Figure 8 is ta longitudinal section through the ,device takensubstantially unlined- 3 of Figure 1 showing the s toprovide acollapsible container holder with the :tray :eXtended and also withpartsbroken away. Figure 9 ,is a cross section through :the device takenon )line .:9-- 9-o'f Figure .8 being substantially the same as thatshown in Eigure '5 also with the parts shown-omen enlarged scale andshowing the positions of the loops Withthe tray extended.

lEigure \10is a vertical section throughthe outertpqrtion of the casingt'ake'n on line 10-10 of Figure 7 showing a spring latch .for limitingoutward :movement of the tray. Referring now' to .thedrawings, whereinlike reference charactersndenete correspondingparts, the improvedcontainer'holder of this inventionincludes a casing, generally referredto v by the numeral 10 and having .a centrally spositioned verticallydisposed partitionll-therein, and-a tray havingca bottom .12 and.-a faceplate v13 slidahly mounted in the casing. -A kno,b 14'is provided on theouter surface oftthenface plate and substantially semi-circular loops 15sand 16 zare pivotaliy mounted on the tray with ends thereof onscrewsl'ifand 18 attheback of the faceplate, and with sections in openings 19and'ztr of ant-inner plate '21atthe.oppositeendof.theztray, and-theloops are provided rwithlends Hand 23 .that extend into a slot 2401":the partitionlilxwhereby as the tray is-drawn outwardly the ends .zzlvand 23 follow an'inclined section 1250f the slot which extends from apoint ,26 to a point 27 downwardly whereby upon reaching theextendedposition, as illustrated in Figures 7 and 8, the loops 15 and16.are moved upwardly to horizontally disposed positions, alsoas-shownin Figure 9.

r The ;casing 10 is; provided :with a'base 28, side walls 29and 3Q,agpanelfid at the top and arear end wall 32 which provides a closure forthe inner'end, the-outer-end being open. r

TEhe partition 11 in :which-the slot 24 is positioned is provided withflanges 33 and 34 which are secured "to the top panel31,such as bywelding, asiudicated at points 35and-Y36. The partition extends from theforward'or open-end inwardlyto point 37 in Figure 3.

The casing 10 is also provided with clip angles or guides 38 and392andgflanges til-and 41 extended downwardly fronredges ofihe bottom 12of the tray are free toslide in the-clip angles 38 and 39 as the tray.is drawn outwardly and returned to the nested or'eollapsed :positionwithin the casing; The hotom of the tray is provided with spring clips42 and 43 particularly as illustrated in Figure 10whichextend'upwardlyabove"the'zb'ot tom 1 2 andrengage r inn-erteuds ofthe clips- 38 :and 39 to mit'outward movement 0f the tray. The clips asand 39 are secured in position in the casingby welding or other suitablemeans.

The inner plate 21 is mounted on the bottom 12 of the tray and a flange44 on the lower end is secured to the tray, such as by welding. Theplate is retained in an upwardly extended position with a diagonallydisposed brace 45 which, as illustrated in Figure 3, may be formed byfolding the upper end of the plate 21 at the point 46 with a section 47of the plate extended downwardly to form the brace 45 and with a flange48 on the lower end of the brace secured to the upper surface of theplate 12 such as by welding. The upper portion of the plate 21 isprovided with a vertically disposed centrally positioned slot 49 thatstraddles the partition 11 and, as illustrated in Figure 5, the upperportion of the inner plate 21 provides bearings for arms 50 and 51 whichextend through the openings 19 and 20, respectively, of the plate.

The forward end of the plate 12 forming the bottom of the tray extendsupwardly, particularly as illustrated in Figure 8, forming a tray front52 that is positioned in a recess 53 in the face plate or head 13 and,as illustrated in Figures 7 and 8, a liner 54 is positioned between-thetray front and face plate. The face plate 13 is secured to the trayfront 52 with the screws 17 and 1d and also with a screw 55 that holdsthe knob 14 on the outer surface of the face plate. The lower edge ofthe liner 54 is also secured in position in the face plate with screws56 and 57, as shown in Figures 3 and 6.

The outer ends of the loops 15 and 16 are provided with eyes :78 and B,as shown in Figure 9, through which the screws 17 and 18 extend,respectively, and with the arms 50 and 51 at the opposite ends of theloops freely mounted in the openings 19 and 20 of the inner plate 21 theloops are free to twist or rotate as the ends 22 and 23 slide in theslot 24. 4

With the edges of the bottom plate 12 of thetray ex tended through thehold down angles 38 and 39, the tray is free to slide outwardly andinwardly and with the extended ends of the spring clips 42 and 43positioned to engage the ends of the hold down or clip angles outwardmovement of the tray is limited. Y

With the parts assembled as illustrated and described, the casing isadapted to be positioned in an opening in an instrument panel of a motorvehicle and When it is desired to provide a holder for a cup, glass,bottle, or other such device, the tray is drawn outwardly to thepositions illustrated in Figures '7 and 8 whereby the loops and 16 moveupwardly to form a substantially circu lar holder for a containerpositioned upon the plate or bottom 12 of the tray. When use of thedevice is not desired, the tray is moved inwardly into the casing and inthe inward movement the ends 22 and 23 0f the loops follow the slot 24folding the loops 15 and 16 downwardly to the positions shown in Figure5 whereby the device is adapted to be nested in the casing.

It will be understood that modifications, within the scope of theappended claims, may be made in the design and arrangement of the partswithoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A container holder comprising an elongated casing, rectangular shapedin cross section, adapted to be positioned in an instrument panel of amotor vehicle, a tray slidably mounted in the casing, loops pivotallymounted on the tray, a partition having a slot with an inclined sectiontherein in the casing and mounted on the longitudinal center thereof,said loops having right angularly disposed ends extended into the slotof the partition and positioned to follow the inclined section of'theslot, for folding the loops to nested positions in the tray uponmovement of the tray into the casing and for opening the loops tohorizontally disposed positions upon outward movement of the tray in thecasing.

2. A container holder comprising an elongated casing,

rectangular shaped in cross section, adapted to be posi tioned in aninstrument panel of a motor vehicle, a tray slidably mounted in thecasing, means limiting outward movement of the tray in the casing, loopspivotally mounted on the tray, a partition having a slot with aninclined section therein in the casing and mounted on the longitudinalcenter thereof, said loops having right an ularly disposed ends extendedinto the slot of the partition and positioned to follow the inclinedsection of the slot, for folding the loops to nested positions in thetray upon movement of the tray into the casing and for opening the loopsto horizontally disposed positions upon outward movement of the tray inthe casing.

3. In a container holder for use in instrument panels of motor vehicles,the combination which comprises an elongated casing, rectangular shapedin cross section and having a partition with a slot having a slopingsection therein fixedly mounted therein, a tray having a bottom with aface plate on the outer end and a vertically disposed inner plate spacedfrom the inner end slidably mounted in the casing, and substantiallysemi-circular loops pivotally mounted on the face plate and in the innerplate of the tray, said loops having ends extended into the slot of thepartition of the casing whereby upon outward movement of the tray theloops are actuated by the ends thereof following the sloping section ofthe slot to horizontally disposed positions for retaining a container onthe tray and upon inward movement of the tray the loops are actuated bythe ends thereof in a sloping section of the slot to nested positions inthe tray.

4. In a container holder for use in instrument panels of motor vehicles,the combination which comprises an elongated casing, rectangular shapedin cross section and having a partition with a slot having a slopingsection therein fixedly mounted therein, a tray having a bottom with aface plate on the outer end and a vertically disposed inner plate spacedfrom the inner end slidably mounted in the casing, and substantiallysemi-circular loops pivotally mounted on the face plate and in the innerplate of the tray, said loops having ends extended into the slot of thepartition of the casing whereby upon outward movement of the tray theloops are actuated by the ends thereof following the sloping section ofthe slot to horizontally disposed positions for retaining a container onthe tray and upon inward movement of the tray the loops are actuated bythe ends thereof in the sloping section of the slot to nested positionsin the tray, said casing having guide angle bars positioned in oppositesides thereof and the lower edges of said tray being positioned to slidebelow said angle bars for retaining the tray in an extended position.

5. In a container holder for use in instrument panels of motor vehicles,the combination which comprises an elongated casing, rectangular shapedin cross section and having a partition with a slot having a slopingsection therein fixedly mounted therein, a tray having a bottom with aface plate on the outer end and a vertically disposed inner plate spacedfrom the inner end slidably mounted in the casing, substantiallysemi-circular loops pivotally mounted on the face plate and in the innerplate of the tray, said loops having ends extended into the slot of thepartition of the casing whereby upon outward movement of the tray theloops are actuated to horizontal 1y disposed positions for retaining acontainer on the tray and upon inward movement of the tray the loops areactuated to nested positions in the tray, said casing having guide anglebars positioned in opposite sides thereof and the lower edges of saidtray being positioned to slide below said angle bars for retaining thetray in an extended position, and spring clips carried by edges of thetray and positioned to engage said guide angles for limiting outwardmovement of the tray.

6. In a container holder, the combination which comprises an elongatedcasing, rectangular shaped in cross section and having a centrallypositioned longitudinally disposed partition extended downwardly fromthe upper end and having clip angles on inner surfaces of side Walls andspaced from the lower end, said partition having a slot with an inclinedsection therein extended therethrough, a tray having a bottom with edgesthereof positioned to slide below the guide angles on the inner surfacesof the sides of the casing and having a face plate extended upwardlyfrom the outer end, spring clips positioned at the sides and on theinner end of the bottom of the tray for limiting outward movement of thetray,

and substantially semi-circular loops pivotally mounted 10 on the trayand having extended ends adapted to travel in the slot of the partitionof the casing for actuating the loops to horizontally disposed positionsas the tray is moved outwardly and to nested positions as the tray is 5moved inwardly of the casing.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,793,765 Ven Roy et a1 Feb. 24, 1931

